1970 Rugby League World Cup
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
1970 Rugby League World Cup result: Australia won the title, beating Great Britain 12–7 in the final. Hosted by England.
Full match archive (7 games)
Groups
World Cup Table
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 21 | +23 | 6 | WWW |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 66 | 39 | +27 | 2 | WLL |
| France | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 37 | -5 | 2 | LLW |
| New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 44 | 89 | -45 | 2 | LWL |
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 1970 | Australia 47–11 New Zealand | Central Park, Wigan, England | 9,805 |
| 24 Oct 1970 | Great Britain 11–4 Australia | Headingley, Leeds, England | 15,084 |
| 25 Oct 1970 | France 15–16 New Zealand | The Boulevard, Hull, England | 3,824 |
| 28 Oct 1970 | Great Britain 6–0 France | Wheldon Road, Castleford, England | 8,958 |
| 31 Oct 1970 | Great Britain 27–17 New Zealand | Station Road, Swinton, England | 5,609 |
| 1 Nov 1970 | Australia 15–17 France | Odsal Stadium, Bradford, England | 6,654 |
Knockout stage
Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Nov 1970 | Australia 12–7 Great Britain | Headingley, Leeds, England | 18,776 |
Tournament facts
| Host | England |
| Dates | 27 October – 7 November 1970 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Games played | 7 |
| Players used | 72 |
| Average crowd | 9,828 |
Teams (4)
Context
Matches played at Headingley (Leeds), Wigan, Hull and Castleford.
Australia reached the final on points differential despite losing to France in the pool stage, while Great Britain went through the group unbeaten. The final itself, played at Headingley, became known as the "Battle of Headingley" for its sheer brutality, and Australia held on to win 12-7. In an odd postscript, the World Cup trophy itself was stolen from display at Bradford's Midland Hotel roughly a week before that final and went missing entirely for two decades, unconnected to the result on the pitch. It resurfaced only in 1990, when Bradford couple Stephen and Elizabeth Uttley found it discarded in a ditch near a rugby club in Bingley; Stephen initially had no idea what it was and only realised its significance after a local newspaper ran a story about having it melted down for scrap, which caught the attention of a rugby league historian who identified it. The RFL formally returned the recovered trophy to the sport in June 1990, though the ornamental cockerel that had originally topped it was never found and remains missing to this day. On the pitch, the final's brutal reputation was cemented in its closing minute when both Australia's Billy Smith and Great Britain's Syd Hynes were sent off, despite Bob Fulton having scored for Australia within seconds of kick-off — probably the fastest try in the format's international history at that point. Eric Simms again topped the tournament's scoring charts, kicking a record ten goals in the opening match against New Zealand, while France's Serge Marsolan scored what many observers rated the try of the tournament, running the length of the field from behind his own line.
Sources
← 1968 Rugby League World Cup1972 Rugby League World Cup →
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